Networks have inauguration plans on screen and off

NEW YORK — In all their planning to cover Barack Obama's inauguration as the nation's 44th president, television networks have paid particular attention to people who must spend their day in front of a computer.

CBS News has built a special inauguration Web site to show its coverage on Jan. 20. CNN.com will have four live streams and will allow Facebook users to connect through its site. ABC is offering online archived speeches of past presidents. Fox News and MSNBC Web sites will both stream the inauguration live online.

"There are a lot of people who are going to be captivated by the entire day, and a lot of them are not going to be able to have a television set in the office, or have access to a television," said Sean McManus, CBS News president. The online coverage "has a much higher priority than it has in the past."

McManus has experience with the online audience of people who are supposed to be working; he's also president of CBS Sports, which streams the opening days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

The Facebook deal is part of how CNN is experimenting to find the right way to get viewers involved with the event, much like the debate it co-sponsored during primary season with YouTube, said David Bohrman, CNN senior vice president and Washington bureau chief. He senses that a lot of people on Jan. 20 will want to communicate with friends.

"People are just trying to figure out the blend right now," Bohrman said. "Everyone knows that there's something there, and this is an interesting step in the evolution. If you look at this moment in eight or 10 years it will be interesting to see what panned out and what went nowhere."

None of this means the networks are shortchanging their television plans. Like Election Night, a presidential inauguration is an event that has been in the planning for a long time and brings out the "A" team. It's even more so now, as Obama's installation as president caps a campaign that drew extraordinary interest from viewers.

"For a news division, it is the gift that keeps on giving," McManus said.

CBS' daytime coverage on Inauguration Day stretches from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The network had originally planned to end it earlier, but its affiliates said they'd prefer more from Washington than the usual daytime talk shows, he said.